What is Country of Origin?

Country of Origin is the country where the good originates from.

This can mean where the good was grown, produced, manufactured and or assembled. In our case, our good must originate from one for the NAFTA countries (the US or Mexico) to qualify for lower duty rates.

This is important for your customs documents and must be accurate!

What are Rules of Origin?

Rules of Origin are used to figure out where your imported good comes from, this is the Country of Origin of your goods.

There are 4 Rules of Origin but you only need to meet 1 to prove your good is in fact from the NAFTA region.

Goods wholly obtained or produced in the NAFTA regionThis means that your goods come entirely from one of the NAFTA countries

Goods produced in the NAFTA region wholly from Originating Materials

This means that your good is made up of parts, and those parts are only from the NAFTA region.

Example: a turquoise necklace is made in the US using silver from Mexico and a stone from the US. Rule 2 is met because both pieces come from the NAFTA region. The country of origin is the US because that is where the necklace was crafted – where the pieces came together to make the final product.

Goods Meeting the Annex 401-Specific Rules of Origin on NAFTA

Unassembled good and goods classified with their parts which do not meet the annex 401 Specific Rules of Origin for NAFTA but contain 60% regional value content using the Transaction Value Method or 50% using the Net Cost Method

Rules 3 and 4 are very complex and require extensive knowledge on HS classification. For this reason, your broker will examine the code for accuracy.